Chez Maxime

About

Chez Maxime is a 1983 management game set in a small restaurant where players control a waiter tasked with keeping customers happy. The player navigates three floors using an elevator, serving meals delivered via a moving dumb-waiter. Customers start calm but grow increasingly agitated if left waiting, turning red and eventually storming out if not attended to. Four unserved exits end the game. Timing is key as players dodge obstacles like a mischievous dog that steals trays when the character is occupied. This Odyssey 2 title stands out as a surprisingly layered simulation for its era, blending resource management with light platformer mechanics. The dog’s disruptive antics and the elevator’s limited positioning add tension to an otherwise straightforward setup. At over 40 years old, its simple design remains a curious relic of early home gaming, balancing chaos and routine in a format few modern titles replicate.

Storyline

In Chez Maxime the player controls Maxime, a waiter who has to keep his customers well served, or else he'll lose his job. The "chez" has three floors, with one table in the first, one in the second and three on the top floor. Customers enter from one of the four doors to the restaurant, sit and wait for their orders. The cook places a meal in the dumb-waiter and Maxime has to get it when it passes by the floor where he's standing in an elevator shaft. Customers get angry for waiting for too long. They arrive green, but turn red as they grow angrier and finally start jumping in their places when they're really furious. If Maxime serves them, they'll return to their calm (green) state and will leave. If Maxime fails to serve them when their furious, they'll leave. If four customers leave unserved, the game is over. To make things a bit more difficult, a dog enters the restaurant every now and then, trying to steal Maxime's tray. If Maxime has his hands free, he'll kick the dog out; if he's carrying his tray, the dog will bite Maxime's legs, making him fall, and will steal the tray.